Improvement in railroad-track clearers



R. DEAN.

Car-Track Clearer.

No. 37,679. Patented Feb. 17, 1863.

Witnesses:

Inventor. g; 04 .A W

AM. PHOTO-LITHO. C0. NX. (OSBIIRNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

REUEL DEAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-TRACK CLEARERS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, REUEL DEAN, of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Track Clearer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan, a portion of the platform and frame timbers being broken away to show the parts beneath Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, an end view, the rear wheels being removed to show the parts behind; Fig. 4, a view of the scraper detached.

My improvement has for its object to remove the ice and hardened snow which often accumulate upon the inside of the rails to such an extent as seriously to interfere with the flanges of the wheels and to impede the progress of the cars. Track-clearers have been contrived for this purpose in which the scrapers were pressed down to their work by springs, but in no instance, so far as I am informed, have they been arranged so that they could be run without danger of throwing the car from the track, and placed entirely within the control of those having them in charge, so that they could be raised entirely from the track or brought down to their work with the degree of force required.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out;

The operating parts are all carried by the plow A, which clears the light snow from above the rails, and is suspended from the frame of the car by chains fand g. This plow is made as seen in the drawings, the crosstimbers Band 0 being bolted the end beams, D. The planks or beams h m support the sheathing E, or covering of the plow, which forms an angle at the line a for the purpose of throwing out the snow. The scrapers d are formed as seen in Fig. 4, the part 0 resting upon the rail, and the parti projecting down within the rail. It is this portion '5 of the scraper that removes the ice and hardened snow from out of the path of the flanges of Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,679, dated February 17, 1863.

the traveling wheels. The cross-beam B of the plow carries a leaf-spring, H, the ends of which rest upon the beam, and upon the center of this spring rests a hooked presserbar, Gr, the upper end of which is pivoted to a hand-lever, F, the fulcrum b of which is upon the top of a post, L, rising from the platform of the car. When the scraper is in operation, the lever F is depressed,'and is held in that position by a pin passing through the hole n in the guide K, the pin being placed above the lever. The lower or hooked end of the presser-bar Gr passes through slots S in the guide r, rising from the center of the beam B, so arranged that when the beam F is raised, and the pin t is the hole at is placed beneath it, the scrapers are raised entirely clear of the track and are thrown out of operation, as seen in Fig. 2. The pin if when not in use is placed in a hole in the standard L. The platform M is weighted sufficiently to prevent the car from being raised from the rails, and the spring H, while it has sufficient stiii'ness to force the scrapers at all'times into the ice, is sufficiently flexible to enable them to yield to any rigid obstruction, as a stone or projecting tie.

It will be observed that the presser-har G bears upon the center of the spring H, the ends of which rest upon the cross-bar B, and as the plow is suspended from the frame of the car and at no point is rigidly attached thereto, it vibrates freely up and down at either end as the scrapers pass through the ice and all danger of throwing the car from the track is avoided. When the lever F is depressed and the pin t is placed in the hole n and over the lever, the scrapers are depressed, the part c resting upon the rail and the part i projecting down inside of it.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The suspended plow A, with its scrapers d, in combination with the spring H and lever F, or its equivalent, constructed and operating in the manner substantially as set forth.

REUEL DEAN.

Witnesses:

SAM. COOPER,

P. E. TESCHEMACHER. 

